The Horse's Advocate Podcast

Evolution defines the development of a species, such as the horse, throughout all time on Earth. However, the starting point may be adjusted to any moment we choose, for example, identifying a particular breed, when man domesticated horses, or when the first resemblance of a horse appeared. The time between the selected point and today is thousands to millions of years ago. More importantly, the r...

This podcast is chapters two and three of my autobiography, Since The Days Of The Romans  - My Journey Of Discovering A Life With Horses . Over the next few months, I'll record and put out all 18 chapters of my autobiography. I hope you enjoy hearing my story and find inspiration if you need help finding your journey. May 2023 represents my 50th year working with horses. So how did I get here? Wha...

Four decades of floating horses have filled me with experiences hard to gain from a textbook. In fact, in 1983, there was only one book on equine dentistry written by an equine dentist from New Jersey; however, other mentions in textbooks on horse care date back 100 years. The questions often asked by horse owners about the care of the teeth in horses are the basis of this podcast. Using the guide...

May 2023 represents my 50th year working with horses. So how did I get here? What brought me from being a wandering young man to becoming an equine veterinarian? In 2014, I wrote my autobiography to help others trying to find their way but having obstacles block their path. This recording is my story of finding my passion while overcoming my obstacles: a poor reader and student, a three-time colle...

I received the following emails targeting equine veterinarians with various announcements last week. You must be "cognitively diligent" to read the subtle messages and misdirection, confusion, and sometimes utter nonsense within their messages. Everyone has an agenda. As veterinarians or horse owners, we must read between the lines, question what is said, and discover if the information is good, r...

This podcast answers a question about the feeding of young, growing horses and their mothers sent to me by someone in Thoroughbred breeding and sales. Here is the question: "I assume that your no-grain diet is only for mature non-pregnant, and non-lactating mares. I'm interested in trying to find a way to use less grain, but it seems impossible to raise Thoroughbreds to sell at auction. They would...

In my last episode (#074), I discussed "Cognitive Laziness," as defined by an article in The Wall Street Journal. I suggested that artificial intelligence in the form of marketing has been shaping our minds to do things around our horses that may not be in their best interest. However, the lines blur between beliefs in what is right and what is wrong. Further, we cannot live in a world of uncertai...

I am returning to podcasting after a 6-month break. I will tell you about why in the NEXT podcast. Instead, in this podcast, I want to read a blog I wrote back in March 2020. There are two drivers for my action here. The first is the recent uptick in the discussion about artificial intelligence. The second is the observation that most horse owners I see or hear from are still listening to this art...

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) meets annually to offer continuing education for horse vets worldwide. They meet in a major American city every autumn (this year is in San Antonio, TX); however, they also offer a virtual meeting for practitioners who cannot attend. That appeals to me as November and December are my busiest months as my clients get ready for their show seaso...

As defined by Wikipedia, 2022  -  "In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the perception of contradictory information, and the mental toll of it. (…) Cognitive dissonance is typically experienced as psychological stress(…). According to this theory, when two actions or ideas are not psychologically consistent with each other, people do all in their power to change them until they beco...

Over the past month, I have heard many great stories about how well the no-grain plus soybean meal diet works from my dentistry clients. However, they also tell me how difficult it can be to discuss it with others. This episode explains why I have been absent for a few weeks. Sorry about that! Then I mistakenly said this would be a short and brief review of the basics of feeding horses. But like a...

In 1979, I memorized the standard chart for aging the horse using the ware patterns of the teeth over time. The incisors were used rather than the cheek teeth because they were readily available by lifting the lips. The recorded features included the cups, dental star, and Galvayne's Groove. Horse owners and buyers used the chart for maybe a century, but in the 1980s, many equine dentists started...

Water is one of the necessary ingredients to maintain life. Every animal and plant on Earth knows this. Still, because of the familiarity, we often don't think much about remaining hydrated. In this episode, I read an article from the August 2022 issue of "The Horse" that Purina sponsored. During the reading, I added my thoughts to broaden your understanding to ensure your horses remain hydrated t...

My guest today is Dr. Denny French, a second-generation large animal veterinarian from the midwest United States. He was a professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Veterinary Medicine for 30 years. In 2009, he migrated back to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine as a professor and head of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine. He prese...

I talked with Bonny Barry of  Equine Reflections  (EquineReflections.org), a non-profit horse therapy center in Folsom, Louisiana. They offer these programs: Horses For Healing Professional Development Retreats Whoa to Bullying, Giddy Up To Kindness Horsemanship Empowerment Saddle Up for Success Bonny's honesty about her journey into this field will move you whether or not you are a victim of abus...

Helping Horses Thrive In A Human World is a tagline of two parts: Thrive and Human. Horses thriving is open to interpretation, but as we look at our horses, we all see the difference between thriving and existing. We see this in ourselves. We all want to thrive, but life is usually about surviving. The human world adds restrictions to the horse, often proclaiming to help horses thrive. But do they...

We are all students; we usually believe the teachers that teach us. Math was easy. 2+2=4, and there is no getting around that. The concept of zero, introduced about 300 AD, caused the extinction of the abacus and Roman Numerals but allowed for the advancement of science and trade. Before 500 years ago, teachers taught that the sun circled the Earth. Soon that changed unless you still believe the E...

Shaming was a way for people in the past to look at those with excess body fat. However, excess body fat on people is now considered normal and accepted as a part of health and life. The same is happening with our horses. Today, most people want extra fat on their horses and consider this a sign of health. But is excess body fat healthy? Do we see excess body fat on healthy, thriving older people...

In this podcast, I talk about a variety of subjects. Some I have discussed in detail elsewhere, and some are new. These subjects include the microbiome of horses (and what we know in humans), prebiotics and probiotics (and what I will be taking), what happens to sugar in the diet, how body fat forms, and why excess body fat is unhealthy. I also share my adventures with floating horses and meeting...

Arrogance (dictionary.com): the offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride. Confidence (dictionary.com): belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance. These two human traits are often confused, especially in horsemanship. In this podcast, I discuss the difference between these attitudes and their bearing on how we interact w...

Many horse owners associate weight loss in horses with dental issues. The most common sign of a dental problem is "Quidding" or the formation of a "Quid." When a horse chews food, material moves in an orchestrated relation between the teeth, jaw and tongue to move food from the front of the mouth back to the swallowing mechanism of the throat. However, when this food bolus is unacceptable for swal...

Dennis Brooks is a great guy who owns a small section of woods in central Florida and, with his wife (a veterinarian), cares for three horses and a clan of small animals. So why is he my special guest today? This explanation may take some time.  To start with, Dennis Brooks is a veterinarian, a Ph. D. researcher, a diplomat in the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmology, a professor emeritus...

Do you know what is in your feed bad? And if you do, do you know why? Millions of grain scoops are fed to our horses every day around the world, yet when I ask horse owners what they are feeding their horses, I usually get blank looks. I grab a feed tag from any bag in the feed room and start reading the first ingredient to the 5th, 8th, or 10th, but usually, within a quick time, my point is made....

This podcast is the second time I have picked up a popular horse magazine, reviewed the articles and added my thoughts on the ones I selected. I received some positive comments the last time I did this and decided to do this again. After all, you are reading these magazines without any balancing views. It is like watching one station's newscast and then hearing the same story on another station wi...

Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome, or EGUS, is being treated in more horses today than almost any other disease and is considered by horse owners to be "routine." The advent of visualizing the stomach lining using a fiber-optic endoscope is now available to nearly every horse owner through their local veterinarian. In addition, medicines are available to treat horses suffering from this condition, and...